Wheelchair Controlled by Eye Movement Using Raspberry Pi for ALS Patients

Abstract Background and Purpose It is generally believed that eye movements are completely spared in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Although a series of eye movement abnormalities has been recognized in recent years, the findings are highly controversial, and the corresponding pattern has not yet been established. Furthermore, bulbar disabilities should be considered in relation to eye movement abnormalities. The present study aimed to determine whether eye movement abnormalities are present in ALS and, if so, to investigate their characteristics and their association with bulbar disability in ALS patients. Methods Patients with clinically definite, probable or laboratory-supported probable ALS (n=60) and a control group composed of their caregivers (n=30) underwent clinical assessments and standardized evaluations of the oculomotor system using videonystagmography. The gaze test, reflexive saccade test and smooth pursuit test were administered to all subjects. Results Eye movement abnormalities such as square-wave jerks, abnormal cogwheeling during smooth pursuit, and saccade hypometria were observed in ALS patients. Square-wave jerks (p<0.001) and abnormal cogwheeling during smooth pursuit (p=0.001) were more frequently observed in ALS patients than in the control subjects. In subgroup analyses, square-wave jerks (p=0.004) and abnormal cogwheeling during smooth pursuit (p=0.031) were found to be more common in ALS patients with bulbar involvement (n=44) than in those without bulbar involvement (n=16). There were no significant differences in the investigated eye movement parameters between bulbar-onset (n=12) and spinal-onset patients (n=48). Conclusion ALS patients showed a range of eye movement abnormalities, affecting mainly the ocular fixation and smooth pursuit systems. These abnormalities were observed more common in the ALS patients with bulbar involvement. Our pioneering study indicates that the region of involvement could better indicate the pathophysiological essence of the abnormalities than the type of onset pattern in ALS. Eye movement abnormalities may be potential clinical markers for objectively evaluating upper brainstem or supratentorial cerebral lesion neurodegeneration in ALS.

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Auditory Electrooculogram-based Communication System for ALS Patients in Transition from Locked-in to Complete Locked-in State

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-65333-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Alessandro Tonin ◽

Andres Jaramillo-Gonzalez ◽

Aygul Rana ◽

Majid Khalili-Ardali ◽

Niels Birbaumer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Eye Movement ◽

Communication System ◽

Movement Control ◽

Movement Amplitude ◽

Gaze Fixation ◽

System A ◽

Complete Paralysis ◽

One Year ◽

Als Patients

AbstractPatients in the transition from locked-in (i.e., a state of almost complete paralysis with voluntary eye movement control, eye blinks or twitches of face muscles, and preserved consciousness) to complete locked-in state (i.e., total paralysis including paralysis of eye-muscles and loss of gaze-fixation, combined with preserved consciousness) are left without any means of communication. An auditory communication system based on electrooculogram (EOG) was developed to enable such patients to communicate. Four amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients in transition from locked-in state to completely locked-in state, with ALSFRS-R score of 0, unable to use eye trackers for communication, learned to use an auditory EOG-based communication system. The patients, with eye-movement amplitude between the range of ±200μV and ±40μV, were able to form complete sentences and communicate independently and freely, selecting letters from an auditory speller system. A follow-up of one year with one patient shows the feasibility of the proposed system in long-term use and the correlation between speller performance and eye-movement decay. The results of the auditory speller system have the potential to provide a means of communication to patient populations without gaze fixation ability and with low eye-movement amplitude range.

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Association of Clinically Evident Eye Movement Abnormalities With Motor and Cognitive Features in Patients With Motor Neuron Disorders

Neurology ◽

10.1212/wnl.0000000000012774 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 10.1212/WNL.0000000000012774

Author(s):

Barbara Poletti ◽

Federica Solca ◽

Laura Carelli ◽

Alberto Diena ◽

Eleonora Colombo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Motor Neuron ◽

Eye Movement ◽

Cognitive Behavioral ◽

Cognitively Impaired ◽

Clinical Markers ◽

Behavioral Alterations ◽

Neuropsychological Battery ◽

Bulbar Onset ◽

Als Patients

Objective:Although oculomotor abnormalities (OMAs) are not usually considered prominent features of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), they may represent potential clinical markers of neurodegeneration, especially when investigated together with cognitive and behavioral alterations. The aim of our study was to identify patterns of clinically evident OMAs in ALS patients and to correlate such findings with cognitive-behavioral data.Methods: three consecutive, inpatient cohorts of Italian ALS patients and controls were retrospectively evaluated to assess the frequency of OMAs and cognitive-behavioral alterations. The ALS population was divided in a discovery and a replication cohort. Controls included a cohort of cognitively impaired individuals and of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Subjects underwent bedside eye movement evaluation to determine the presence and pattern of OMAs. Cognitive assessment was performed using a standard neuropsychological battery (discovery ALS cohort, and AD cohort), and the Italian Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen – ECAS (replication ALS cohort).Results:We recruited 864 ALS (635 discovery, 229 replication), 798 cognitively unimpaired, and 171 AD subjects. OMAs were detected in 10.5% of our ALS cohort vs 1.6% of cognitively unimpaired controls (p=1.2x10-14) and 11.4% of AD patients (p=ns). The most frequent deficits were smooth pursuit and saccadic abnormalities. OMAs frequency was higher in patients with bulbar onset, prominent upper motor neuron signs, and advanced disease stages. Cognitive dysfunction was significantly more frequent in patients with OMAs in both ALS cohorts (p=1.1x10-25). Furthermore, OMAs significantly correlated with the severity of cognitive impairment and with pathological scores at the ECAS ALS-specific domains. Lastly, OMAs could be observed in 35.0% of cognitively impaired ALS vs 11.4% of AD patients (p=6.4x10-7), suggesting a possible involvement of frontal oculomotor areas in ALS.Discussion:ALS patients showed a range of clinically evident OMAs, and these alterations were significantly correlated with cognitive, but not behavioral, changes. OMAs may be a marker of neurodegeneration and bedside assessment represents a rapid, highly specific tool for detecting cognitive impairment in ALS.

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EYE MOVEMENT CONTROLLED PERIPHERALS FOR THE HANDICAPPED-PARALYZED PEOPLE AND ALS PATIENTS

Anadolu University Journal of Science and Technology-A Applied Sciences and Engineering ◽

10.18038/aubtda.340796 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 763-776

Author(s):

İ. Baran USLU ◽

Fikret Arı ◽

Emre Sümer ◽

Mustafa Türker

Keyword(s):

Eye Movement ◽

Als Patients

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Eye Tracking ,Control Gestures, Raspberry Pi, Image Processing.

International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology ◽

10.32628/ijsrst196255 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 311-319

Author(s):

Arulmozhi. K ◽

Dharshini. K ◽

Kaviyasree. P ◽

Seetha. J

Keyword(s):

Image Processing ◽

Control System ◽

Eye Tracking ◽

Eye Movement ◽

Tracking Control ◽

Tracking System ◽

Raspberry Pi ◽

Cursor Control ◽

Design And Implementation ◽

Processing Module

Smart eye tracking system is designed for controlling any devices which has digital screen, with the eye ball movements and gestures without the help of required hardware. This paper proposes the design and implementation of cursor control system based on the movement of the eye ball. Then the movement of the eye ball is tracked and the cursor movement is regulated accordingly and gestures like blinking enables enter and blinking twice enables right click and left click. These gestures and tracking system enables the users to use the entire device. The image processing module consists of webcam and python customized image processing, the eye movement image is captured and transmitted to Raspberry pi 3 model B version 2 microcontroller for processing with open CV to derive the coordinate of eyeball. The coordinate of eyeball is utilized for cursor control on the Raspberry pi screen to control the system.

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Wie werden Verbesserungen nach Typ-II-Traumata infolge unterschiedlicher traumabearbeitender Interventionen eingeschätzt?

Zeitschrift für Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie ◽

10.1026/1616-3443/a000117 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 30-37 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sören Kliem* ◽

Christoph Kröger* ◽

Nico Bayat Sarmadi ◽

Joachim Kosfelder

Keyword(s):

Eye Movement

Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: Bei der Behandlung der posttraumatischen Belastungsstörung (PTBS) nach einem Typ-II-Trauma werden im klinischen Alltag gegenwärtig unterschiedliche traumabearbeitende Interventionen eingesetzt. Fragestellung: Wie werden die Verbesserungen in verschiedenen Symptombereichen (plötzliches Wiedererleben, Vermeidung, Übererregung, Dissoziation und zusätzliche Symptomatik) in Abhängigkeit von dem Einsatz unterschiedlicher traumabearbeitender Interventionen von den Behandlern retrospektiv eingeschätzt? Methode: Aus einer Umfrage unter Psychologischen Psychotherapeuten (N = 272) wurden die Fälle ausgewählt, bei denen die Therapeuten (1) ein Ereignis nannten, das einem Typ-II-Trauma zugeordnet werden konnte, und (2) angaben, traumabearbeitende Interventionen gemäß der traumafokussierenden, kognitiven Verhaltenstherapie (TF-KVT), der Methode des Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR-Methode) oder der Psychodynamisch-imaginativen Traumatherapie (PITT) durchgeführt zu haben (n = 37). Außerdem beurteilten die Therapeuten retrospektiv die Verbesserungen in den Symptombereichen zu Therapieende. Ergebnisse: Über 40% der Therapeuten gaben an, die Vorstellungsübungen bzw. Bearbeitung des Täter Introjekts gemäß der PITT eingesetzt zu haben, gefolgt von den traumabearbeitenden Interventionen der TF KVT (35.1%) und der EMDR Methode (21.6%). Die Therapeuten, die Interventionen eines der beiden zuletzt genannten Verfahren einsetzten, schätzten die Verbesserungen in den verschiedenen Symptombereichen höher ein als diejenigen, die angaben, eine Intervention gemäß der PITT durchgeführt zu haben. Schlussfolgerungen: Die retrospektiven Einschätzungen der Verbesserungen durch die Therapeuten stehen im Einklang mit den Empfehlungen der Behandlungsleitlinien zur PTBS.

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Age Differences in Eye Movements During Reading: Degenerative Problems or Compensatory Strategy?

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027/1016-9040/a000344 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 297-311

Author(s):

José David Moreno ◽

José A. León ◽

Lorena A. M. Arnal ◽

Juan Botella

Keyword(s):

Eye Movements ◽

Eye Movement ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Age Groups ◽

Behavioral Changes ◽

Aging Effects ◽

Movement Data ◽

Sentence Reading ◽

The Difference ◽

Eye Movements During Reading

Abstract. We report the results of a meta-analysis of 22 experiments comparing the eye movement data obtained from young ( Mage = 21 years) and old ( Mage = 73 years) readers. The data included six eye movement measures (mean gaze duration, mean fixation duration, total sentence reading time, mean number of fixations, mean number of regressions, and mean length of progressive saccade eye movements). Estimates were obtained of the typified mean difference, d, between the age groups in all six measures. The results showed positive combined effect size estimates in favor of the young adult group (between 0.54 and 3.66 in all measures), although the difference for the mean number of fixations was not significant. Young adults make in a systematic way, shorter gazes, fewer regressions, and shorter saccadic movements during reading than older adults, and they also read faster. The meta-analysis results confirm statistically the most common patterns observed in previous research; therefore, eye movements seem to be a useful tool to measure behavioral changes due to the aging process. Moreover, these results do not allow us to discard either of the two main hypotheses assessed for explaining the observed aging effects, namely neural degenerative problems and the adoption of compensatory strategies.

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